The Rotting Flesh Book 2: Deadman’s Wonderland
Chapter 22: Do or Die

Almost like karma was opposing him, exactly what he feared happened. With a loud thud someone landed in front of them. Almost as tall as Ceaser but more muscular and less intimidating he smiled.

“Good evening, surrender and I might let you live” he spoke in a cocky manner

Tanya’s heart skipped a beat and she could feel her body heating up. Her pulse was already involuntarily pounding faster than usual. There was silence as everyone was still analyzing their foe. The man in front of them wore a black tank top, military cargo pants and massive black rubber boots. He looked like a soldier from the movies. By just looking at him it was obvious he was one of the over confident, rebellious and ruthless kind of people. As if they had telepathy everyone pulled out their weapons at the same time and took fighting stances. The sun was slowly setting and the light along with it. Nikita pulled out her curled twin blades and the boys their katanas. Tanya on the other hand remained still, she couldn’t move. It was like her whole body had stiffened.

How can i be so useless, I can’t even move but everyone else is prepared to fight she thought as her knees began to tremble

“Its okay to be afraid, thats what makes us human” Tom said almost as though he read her mind

He knew the feeling too well to judge her. When they first met Ceaser the terror he felt was so great it took everything in him to pull that trigger. Deep down he had blamed himself for being afraid but Xin led him to understand that fear is a sign that we have not lost our humanity. It must be embraced and then conquered.

“She is not afraid its just her wounds haven’t healed, im a woman i know” Nikita winked at her “now relax and let us take care of this”

“Don’t get too cocky be intelligent about your choice of words” commented Silus

“So says the ogre” Nikita shot back

Silus frowned, he was quick to anger, all of the deadmen were. Even though they still possessed intelligence the fact that they were no longer human still caused them to respond to certain situations like the animals they were.

“You’ll regret that” he said reaching for his back

Making a sliding metal sound he pulled out a katana. It was big enough to match his size. Seeing it Tom frowned.

Damnit I could barely stand against Xin’s now i have to go up against that he thought

His hands were aching from all the rushed training drills he had and now he had to use them more. Silus took an attack stance and introduced himself

“Watashi wa Silus des, Yoroshiku onegaishimas”

Nikita and Xin took of at the same time as Silus marking the start of the fight. It happened in such a uniform fashion that Tom and Tanya were left standing in confusion. Silus’ once loud thuds became light as though he wasn’t stepping on the ground. He swung his sword downwards and it collided with Xin’s who was sliding below him. Nikita spun in the air aimed for his neck but he pulled back early enough to only get a cut on the cheek. He jumped back creating a distance between them. Tanya and Tom stared in awe at what they had just seen. The way Silus pulled back was visible he saw them as a greater threat than before. Silus touched the wound on his cheek with the tips of his fingers and rubbed them together.

I don’t remember the last time I bled he smiled this might not be a waste of time after all

He reached for his back with his left hand and pulled out a second blade identical to the first. He too was a twin sword user. Seeing how things were Tom threw Xin’s katana to him and he caught it without taking his eyes off Silus.

“Before we get serious your names” said Silus taking a stance

“Xin”

“Nikita”

“Thomas” said Tom appearing next to Xin

“El, I see” said Silus “that must be one of your girls” he added looking at Tanya

Tom tightened his grip on his regular weapon, his baseball bat. Darting his eyes from friend to foe he awaited that sudden takeoff which occurred when they first met Silus. He noticed them all breathing in and the moment they breathed out they took off l. Even though his timing was not on point he almost managed to take off with them. Running straight to Silus who was also coming to them. Tom had to keep his eyes peeled for the next attack coordination. Nikita ran on the far left while Xin went to Silus head on, so it meant he had to go to the far right so as to flank him.

In all his years of combat ever since the normal world up until the apocalypse Tom had never fought a coordinated fight. He was just the type to bulldoze through with brute strength and no skill. However with what he saw occur on the first contact, without skill it would be impossible to wound these monsters. Silus swung his right sword towards Xin while his left went for Nikita. Tom saw an opening and charged but only realized it when he was close that he was wrong, Silus had taken him into account too. Just as the swords struck one another, Silus kicked back his right foot which welcomed Tom sending him crushing at the river bank. He coughed blood but quickly stood up. There wa no time to pay attention to pain. Nikita and Xin were already clashing swords with the beast. Without a second thought he took off back into the battle. Silus saw him with the side of his eye and as he was about to counter him, he saw something a else. Tanya was aiming a sniper at him. She pulled the trigger and the moment Silus dodged going back he was met with a powerful, blow on the side with Tom’s baseball bat.

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